Andre 3000
The hip-hop superstar finds eternal youth through cartoons.
by Gwynne Watkins
July 23, 2007
Outkast's André "3000" Benjamin has always been larger-than-life, from those starlet-shaming red carpet ensembles to the svelte croon that out-Princes Prince. But he pulls it off which such nonchalant style that he's never seemed cartoonish — until now. In Class of 3000, Benjamin plays Sunny Bridges, a superstar musician who retreats from the spotlight to teach a kids' music class. The delightful TV show, soon to begin its second season on the Cartoon Network, was created and produced by Benjamin, who also writes an original song for every episode. (The Class of 3000 soundtrack, which contains all the addictive hooks and eclectic musical influences of an Outkast album, came out this month.) Babble spoke to André 3000 about children's television, the importance of music and the influence of his nine-year-old son. — Gwynne Watkins
So in Class of 3000, you play a music superstar who turns his back on fame to become a children's music teacher. Is there any real-life wish fulfillment going on there?
Kinda sorta. You know, I think the older I get, the more I question how long I can be relevant to a music that's pretty much youth-based. As far as the hip-hop side of things, it's a young man's sport. And I just turned thirty-two. People like Jay-Z, who's older than I am, are still doing it. But you know, my subject matter, sometimes I don't know if a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old kid would want to listen to it. So I always thought, well, what could I do? And before I started rhyming and writing songs, and producing and writing music and acting, I actually thought I was going to be a painter, because
I'm thirty-two but I still remember the songs from Schoolhouse Rock. I draw and paint. So I said, well, this Sunny Bridges part, you know he's a music teacher, but I think I may end up being an art school teacher.
Was it your idea to have a TV show about a music teacher?
Actually, this is how it happened — a cool guy named Mike Lazlo at the Adult Swim division of Cartoon Network, he heard the Speakerboxx/Love Below album, and in particular he took to the Love Below side of the album. And he wanted to take that and make it into an animated show. I wasn't sure at the time if I wanted to exploit that album. I felt like, let's try something new. And they were like, "Cool." So I flew my partner, Tommy Lynch, and the animators from Cartoon Network, and a couple of creative guys at Cartoon Network, down to Atlanta. Kind of rolled them around. I grew up in kind of the ghetto slob neighborhood of Atlanta and my mom was cool enough to send me to one of the best schools in Atlanta, Sutton Middle School. I'd be going to school with the mayor's kids and the commissioner's children. Right across the street you had horse farms. So when they saw that, they were like, "Hey, this is cool!" So Lil' D, the main character, is pretty much a small version of me.
Do I hear some Schoolhouse Rock influence in the songs?
Yeah, yeah! That was a lot on my mind when we were doing it, 'cause now, to this day, I'm thirty-two but I still remember the songs from Schoolhouse Rock. I wanted to make real music for kids. Because right now, on the radio it's a lot of simplicity and a lot of digital-based music. So the kids, I made sure one played violin, I made sure one played guitar, and drums, saxophone, clarinet, harp. So you know, when it comes around for Christmas, they say "Mom, I want a drumset like Lil' D." Or, "I want a clarinet, like Eddie." So it's kind of introducing, or reintroducing, instruments to kids. Because, this is crazy, they're taking the music programs out of schools now.
©2007 Gwynne Watkins and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Gwynne Watkins was Babble's founding Senior Editor. She has written for a variety of web and print publications, and her theatrical work has been produced throughout the New York area. Her new family musical, Tea with Chachaji, will premiere in early 2010. |
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